The scarcity of new naira notes has put the Nigerian people through unspeakable hardships.
The Guardian Newspaper on February 8 announced that the Supreme Court had adjourned the suit filed by state governments to challenge the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The power tussle: should the old naira still be kept in circulation since the new naira has not been printed enough to sustain the needs of the citizens?
This question has been a tug of war between the rulers and the ruled.
That’s for the news; do you want to get a glimpse of our reality? Ok, let’s unveil the gist as we relate experiences from different characters across the nation.
New Naira Notes Ordeals
So, I got on Keke the other day, and the first thing the Keke rider said was, “Abeg, I hope say everybody carry “new money,” and I no dey collect old money oh!”
Nkechi woke very early Friday morning to be at the ATM stand by 5 AM. On getting there, she saw a very staggering crowd; she was number 250 on the register; did the other 249 people sleep at the post?
Audu, the POS guy in front of Mrs. Apam’s house, has increased his charges from N100 to N300 for just N1000. Simply put, you buy your own money with money!
Precious decided to hurriedly stop over there to get provisions for her mother because they couldn’t get foodstuff from the market due to a lack of cash.
When she arrived, she picked the items that she needed and paid using her bank’s APP, but the salesgirl insisted that they hadn’t received the alert. “I have been debited,” she said exasperatedly. “Madam, we can’t give you your stuff unless we get the alert,” the salesgirl said.
Lanre de resolved that it would be better to visit the bank since the POS stands, which used to be accessible and affordable, have decided to hike their prices. Trust me, they believe that it’s their turn to milk the nation.
Besides, Nigeria’s economy is a national cake; cut your share and eat when the dice roll in your favour.
When he arrived, he was irritated to discover that after trekking for over an hour inside the raging weather, all of the automated teller machines were down and unable to dispense cash. How sad!
The Aboki man selling tomatoes is collecting transfers. Ajoke figured that it was best to send him some money so that if she buys from him, he will give her the rest of the money as change. Their interaction:
Aboki: “Madam, I don see alert.”
Ajoke: “Ok, collect your money for pepper, and give me my change.”
Aboki: “Aah! Bah Chengi, madam! You go use all the money to buy fefe!”
Ajoke: “N2000 pepper.” Oh, my God!”
Frenzy, uncertainty, chaos, panic, pain, hunger the list will go on and on. Yet that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because the sudden apocalyptic fact is worse than these words can describe.
Headlines carry red lights; it’s either vandalism in Delta or arson in Benin. A man collapsed in the bank as a result of the unending queue at the ATM.
A woman came down from her car, stark naked, in a filling station, grabbed the nozzle from one of the fuel pumps, and sprayed fuel on everyone around, believing that by burning down the filling station, she had carried out her vendetta over the failure of the government to hear the outcry of her citizens.
Times are hard, no doubt, but this new naira palava is a nightmare at the outbreak of dawn.
I know a lot of you have your own experiences; please share them in the comment section below.
